Councillors in Wigan are demanding public transport links to the the borough’s historic Haigh Hall – currently undergoing a £50m restoration – are improved. After sampling the services themselves, they said standards ‘prevent fair access for all members of the public’.
Councillors on a town hall scrutiny committee tried to attend using public transport before undergoing a tour of the ongoing work and returned with a critical appraisal.
A report to the committee said: “As part of the exercise members were requested to travel to Haigh Hall without using their personal vehicles and to use the public transport links available to them.”
It went on: “The committee resolved that public transport links to the hall required improvement, as the current links precluded fair access for all members of the public.
“We therefore request that appropriate investigations are conducted by the relevant teams as part of the ongoing works at the hall are improved.”
The feedback from councillors said: “Public transport is not an easy way to access the site. Two members took two bus journeys followed by a 45-minute walk.”
Another said access via the Plantation Gates was ‘not level’ and thus it was not easy to walk to the hall from that direction.
“Transport was also costly; four bus journeys in total could be unaffordable for many,” was another response.
Information should also be provided as to where to get the bus from. “Signage is needed at the bus stop to signify this is how to access Haigh Hall,” the report said.
Such difficulties ‘would deter people from visiting again, if it meant having to get two buses and walk for such a length of time’, was another response.
“A shuttle bus/train would make things a lot easier for people to access,” one said. “And how are staff who do not drive accessing the site? Could there be a golf buggy etc to assist.”
One councillor said the journey was difficult on a dry bright day, but poor weather would deter people accessing the hall on public transport.
“All members agreed that it had been difficult to access Haigh Hall without using a vehicle,” the report said.